Some of my ancestors have been in America since 1611, but most of them were in Ireland, Germany, Switzerland, etc. Considering I've never met any of my ancestors who are from other places, though, it doesn't matter at all.
Around 1300 AD, Mansa Musa's brother went on a couple of trading expeditions to the Americas from Mali. There's also more controversial evidence of west Africans in the Americas around 200 AD or earlier. (If you think about it, the tropical jet stream blows everything from the coast of Africa right into the Caribbean most of the time... that's where hurricanes that head to the U.S. tend to form in fact... so it's not nearly as hard to sail from there as it is from Europe.)
As well, some people argue there's evidence that Spain under Muslim rule may have made several visits to the Americas... but I'm not sure there's as much evidence for that.
The difference, clearly, is that Europeans went there to conquer rather than just trade. So, they had the lasting influence.
Really? Well, mine were part of the colonization program from Alpha Centauri.
Around 1300 AD, Mansa Musa's brother went on a couple of trading expeditions to the Americas from Mali. There's also more controversial evidence of west Africans in the Americas around 200 AD or earlier. (If you think about it, the tropical jet stream blows everything from the coast of Africa right into the Caribbean most of the time... that's where hurricanes that head to the U.S. tend to form in fact... so it's not nearly as hard to sail from there as it is from Europe.)
As well, some people argue there's evidence that Spain under Muslim rule may have made several visits to the Americas... but I'm not sure there's as much evidence for that.
The difference, clearly, is that Europeans went there to conquer rather than just trade. So, they had the lasting influence.
Really? Well, mine were part of the colonization program from Alpha Centauri.
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